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Contents
Introduction
Selected Reference Books
Finding Other Books
Finding Maps in the Library
• Topographic Maps
• Other Maps
Finding Maps on the Internet
• General Maps
• Historical Maps
• Social Science Maps |
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Maps serve several functions for academic researchers. Most obviously, they can indicate the geography and topography of regions. They are also used by historians to portray events that have a geographic dimension, such as military battles and maneuvers, the movements of explorers and conquerors, and the physical expansion of cities, territories, and empires. But most commonly, maps are important tools for visualizing geographic variations and patterns in social, economic, and political variables. The print and electronic resources listed below offer maps that serve one or more of these purposes.
Geography reference books such as atlases offer numerous maps that are often created around a particular theme. Many are available in the reference area, while the largest books are stored on the atlas stand at the edge of the reference area. Browsing the atlas stand and geography section (call numbers starting with G) in the reference area will reveal many additional titles beyond those listed below, including atlases focused on individual countries. Useful maps can also be found in regular reference books, such as encyclopedias and handbooks on your topic of interest.
Atlas of American Military History
Ref G1201 .S1 A8
Atlas of the American Revolution
Atlas Stand G1201 .S3 N4
Atlas of the Civil War
Atlas Stand G1201 .S5 W6
Atlas of the World [National Geographic]
Atlas Stand G1021 .N38
Atlas of the World [Oxford]
Atlas Stand G1021 .A7545
Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World
Atlas Stand G1033 .B3
Harper Atlas of the Bible
Atlas Stand G2230 .H43
Historical Atlas [Shepherd]
Ref G1030 .S4
New Historical Atlas of Religion in America
Ref G1201 .E4 N4
Past Worlds: The Times Atlas of Archaeology
Ref G1046 .E15 P3
Times Atlas of the Second World War
Ref G1038 .T6
Times Atlas of World History
Atlas Stand G1030 .T54
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Some atlases and geographical materials are held in other locations, such as the General Collection, the Oversize Area on the Lower Level, and the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. To find relevant geographical resources at the college, regardless of where they are, do a Keyword search in the online catalog for the topic or geographic entity of interest (for example, religion, politics, or Africa), and add a keyword such as map*, atlas, or geograph*. Note that the asterisk is a wildcard that searches for alternative word forms (e.g., geography, geographic, and geographical).
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To find maps at Geisel Library, do a Keyword search in the online catalog for the name of the country or state of interest, then hit the Modify Search button and limit the Location to "Maps (Lower Level)". Maps are stored in the flat map cases on the Lower Level near the Government Documents section. Large maps produced by the US government are in their own case. Use the links below to see Geisel Library's holdings of the following materials.
Topographic Maps
New Hampshire
Maine
Massachusetts
Vermont
Other Maps
CIA Country Maps
These maps are split into two collections based on their size. Larger maps are in the first map case (location = Maps), while small 8.5x11 inch maps are kept in binders in the government documents stacks (location = Government Documents).
Miscellaneous Maps
Older maps, including some of Manchester, which may be of historical interest.
Voting Ward Maps of New Hampshire
These maps of selected New Hampshire towns are available at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. Please contact the Institute to access them.
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As with most research materials, maps and other geographic resources are increasingly available on the Internet. Map websites frequently offer special features that make the viewing experience more interactive, such as zooming capabilities, customization options, and links to text resources that provide context for the maps. If you create or copy maps online, be sure to give credit to the website in your paper or presentation, using proper citation style. The websites below are just a sampling of the map resources now available online.
General Maps
Google Earth
This free downloadable program uses satellite imagery, terrain maps, and geographic boundaries to help you explore the world. Type in street addresses or search for maps of specific geographic features or locations.
Map Machine (National Geographic)
View and customize road maps, satellite images, maps of physical terrain, and various thematic maps on topics like the weather, farming, and natural resources.
NASA Earth Observatory
Provides free satellite imagery and scientific information about our home planet. The focus is on Earth's climate and environmental change. Obtain maps of atmospheric conditions, ocean and land temperature, vegetation, snow cover, and more.
National Atlas
This official US government website enables you to create customized US maps by adding layers representing a wide variety of variables, including environmental, demographic, and agricultural indicators. There are also several interesting pre-created dynamic maps available.
Perry-Castaņeda Library Map Collection (Univ. of Texas)
This library's website offers downloadable images of maps from its collection, organized by region and country. Also available are historical maps and thematic maps covering issues like energy usage, economic activity, land use, and population density.
Topozone
In association with the USGS, Topozone has created the Web's first interactive topographic map of the entire United States. Includes every USGS 1:100,000, 1:63,360, 1:25,000, and 1:24,000 scale topographic map. Type in a place name to view thumbnail images of available maps.
Historical Maps
Ancient World Mapping Center (Univ. of North Carolina)
The AWNC has provided a large "maps for students" page containing digitized reference maps related to ancient civilizations such as Greece, Egypt, and the Roman Empire. These maps can be reproduced and distributed for educational use, and can be downloaded in PDF or JPEG form.
Broer Map Library
Online historic maps of countries, cities, and US states, organized geographically. Included are standard relief maps, USGS topographical maps, and road maps. A zoom tool is available for focusing on specific areas of a map.
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
This collection of over 15,000 digitized historical maps focuses on North and South American maps from the 18th and 19th centuries, but all regions of the world are represented. Click on the Directory to browse by letter, category, or place. Once you open the map viewer, you can also search by country, state, or keyword. A zooming tool is available.
Historic USGS Maps of New England & New York
This website from the University of New Hampshire offers 1,500 USGS topographic maps of New England and New York from the 1890s to 1950s. These maps can be viewed online or downloaded in JPEG format.
Library of Congress Map Collection
As part of its American Memory project, the Library of Congress has created this website of digitized historic maps, organized into browseable categories such as "Conservation and Environment", "Cultural Landscapes", and "Military Battles and Campaigns". It can also be searched by keyword, title, or subject.
Map History: The Gateway to the Subject
Part of the WWW Virtual Library, this website provides links to over 1,200 historic maps on the Internet, organized by geographic area and theme. A great portal to map collections scattered throughout the Web.
Social Science Maps
Carsey Institute (Univ. of New Hampshire)
This policy institute offers two websites of pre-made maps and charts. One provides county-level information on socioeconomic indicators for northern New England, and the other covers regional economic indicators for the US as a whole.
Census Scope
This site offers numerous well-formatted charts and maps summarizing major Census demographic variables, at the national, state, and metro levels. Printer-friendly versions are available.
Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative
This project provides access to "cultural atlases" that portray national and regional cultures in map form. Many of the ECAI maps are interactive or animated. ECAI also provides links to maps produced by external organizations.
Global Distribution of Poverty (Columbia University)
A collection of online maps that vividly depict poverty rates, poverty density, and income inequality in individual developing nations.
Social Explorer
This web tool allows you to interactively generate maps for a variety of Census variables such as race, income, and education level, with detail down to the Census tract level. Maps are currently available for Censuses dating back to 1940, although earlier Censuses will be added over time.
US Census Bureau Maps
Use the Map Products link to access to maps of census tracts and metropolitan areas, congressional districts, and population distribution. The Online Mapping tools include the American Fact Finder (which enables mapping of Census 2000 variables) and the TIGER map server for generating thematic maps of particular cities, towns, or zip code areas.
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Compiled by Jeff Waller
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